Cristiana Girelli’s statistics speak for themselves. For the National Team alone, 54 goals in 110 appearances. But also, nine Scudetto with three different clubs (Bardolino Verona, Brescia, Juventus), eight Coppa Italia, and ten Suppercoppa Italiana. Despite all this success, Cristiana, awarded with the Italian Female Footballer, can still get excited. She clutched onto her shirt worn against China in the Round of 16 of the 2019 Women’s World Cup, that tournament where the ‘World Cup Girls’ made an entire country fall in love with them and brought many young girls to the world of women’s football. Girelli chose to donate this relic to the Museo del Calcio, as all the other stars inducted into the Hall of Fame have done so far. Girelli is the third active female player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after Sara Gama and Barbara Bonansea in a list that also includes Carolina Morace, Patrizia Panico, Melania Gabbiadini, Elisabetta Vignotto, Milena Bertolini and Antonella Carta. 

Every goal that was projected onto the big screens behind her, with the National Team or with Juventus, brought a different facial expression. Cristiana then spoke open-heartedly: “I have always considered the Hall of Fame to be an extraordinary recognition so to be inducted into this prestigious list fills me with pride. It’s an individual recognition, of course, but it is also for all the people who have been by my side all these years. Starting with my family who are here with me today. Thank you for your unconditional love and support. Thank you to my dad, my first fan and so like all fans, also my first critic. Thank you to my sister, not the biggest football fan but she never stopped supporting me. Thank you to my mum: I hope my joy can soothe some of your pain. And thank you to all the friends I have found thanks to football, companions from a beautiful journey.”

If I am here, that means there is a space where women’s success stories can live and grow. A success which can inspire future generations. Therefore, thank you to the Federation for creating this. I dedicate my last thought to all future generations: excellence can be cultivated and achieved through hard work, dedication and constant determination. Without forgetting to include the most precious thing we have: the heart. Always put heart into everything. I strongly believe that in sport, in life and in love, persistence and heart are the keys to every success.” 

Girelli retraced the last few years of the Women’s National Team. She said, “I believe that everything is part of the journey of a sportsperson and a group of footballers. Years go by, time passes, and things change: our intention was to continue the legacy left by the World Cup because everyone knows what that represented for women’s football. We regret that this was not the case. But I think suffering must be experienced: I’m talking on a personal level but also for the other girls that were at that World Cup. It’s good to go through it because it makes you experience things that you can’t through victory. Now, we’re off again!” 

Guiding this restart, new Women’s Head Coach, Andrea Soncin was present, saying: “In addition to the claim that Cristiana has for this prestigious title, as her statistics prove, I hope this recognition provides her with great strength because she can still write new stories for her club and for the National Team, as well as being a guide for the next generation to understand what it will take to write this new chapter.”